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Annals of Aman

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There often are some particular and apparently of little relevance elements in stories that do instead give so much material to speculate and imagine about. Especially in Tolkien's writings, whose renowned cryptic and tale-like wording can turn out to be quite as tough to manage as his very rich descriptions of events and characters. This one, from the Silmarillion, always catches my attention.


--- Zitat ---Fëanor and his sons abode seldom in one place for long, but travelled far and wide upon the confines of Valinor, going even to the borders of the Dark and the cold shores of the Outer Sea, seeking the unknown. Often they were guests in the halls of Aulë; but Celegorm went rather to the house of Oromë, and there he got great knowledge of birds and beasts, and all their tongues he knew. For all living things that are or have been in the Kingdom of Arda, save only the fell and evil creatures of Melkor, lived then in the land of Aman; and there also were many other creatures that have not been seen upon Middle-earth, and perhaps never now shall be, since the fashion of the world was changed.
--- Ende Zitat ---
J.R.R Tolkien - The Silmarillion: Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië

The material we are offered is very interesting. After the fall of the primordial holy residence of the Valar in Almaren and after the great cataclysm brought upon by the destruction of the Two Lamps, it is very likely that most of the ancestral animals and plants that inhabited Arda were wiped out by such immense ruin. The Valar managed to rescue, though, much of the Light of Almaren and they may have saved some of those beasts too. Then, as we are told, in Valinor, the Archangels made a lot of new things under the blessing influence of their greatest masterpiece: the Two Trees. That eventually even surpassed the beauty of the lost Spring of Arda. It is therefore possible too that some other new animals and plants were created and hallowed within the Pelóri, so that they would have ever been destined to be absolutely unknown to the outer mortal lands.

So, what kind of sacred and ancestral animals do you think Valinor hides behind its indestructible and inviolable walls? I always thought that flying horses could well fit in the Blessed Realm, also as a very distinctive mount, referred to the mythical figure of Pegasus from the ancient Greek mythology. There could also be a lot of other possibilities, thinking about the famous Woods of Oromë and the variety of fauna that might be present there. Personally, I can't help imagining Ingwë, the High King of the Vanyar and all Elves, leading the holy ranks of Aman upon his white flying horse  8-)

Walküre:
A bit closer perspective of the Blessed Realm itself, showing the main places of Valinor and the dwellings of the Valar  :)

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The frozen waste in which are located the two blue Sphinxes of Neverending Story reminds me very much of the frozen and deadly pass of Helcaraxë, that united Aman and Middle-earth before the War of Wrath and the end of the First Age. That ice-land is also immersed in total darkness, if not for the starry sky, and that could be easily relatable to the situation of all the lands out of the walls of Valinor, during the Years of the Trees. Only the Ainur are capable of journeying through it without suffering any toil or pain, while even the mightiest Eldar could find death in the march (as it exactly happened after the Noldor's exile).

Personally, I really like the fact that, even in the continent of the Powers of Arda, there can be such hostile and dangerous places, not less ghoulish than Mordor, Minas Morgul or Moria; just to give some names: the black and long shores of Avathar in the south (once the lair of Ungoliant), the cold desert of Araman in the north and Helcaraxë. I reckon it means that there are no real safe places but the shores of Eldamar and, most importantly, what lies within the indestructible wall of the Pelóri: the Blessed Realm.





These deadly places might also be regarded as additional defences, to guard Aman even more from possible attacks from the East, back when the Valar had decided to wage direct war against Melkor.

Walküre:
Other renditions of the Helcaraxë, the frozen waste which only the Ainur can get through unaltered and unspoiled.

Walküre:
An interesting interpretation of the eerie region of Avathar in Aman, lair of Ungoliant until the Darkening of Valinor.

Actually, the picture seems to show Melkor and Ungoliant climbing the Pelóri and probably reaching the mountainous chain's peak. As it's shown, the two are contemplating the blessed lands of the Valar's realm lit by gold-like radiance and are particularly focused on the source of that holy light: the Two Trees.

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